With a unique fusion of indie pop, R&B and electronic, the enigmatic Lyrah Gray is one of the most exciting voices to come out of Australia this year. The Melbourne producer/songwriter has given us a ton of variety already, from the smooth and melodic “confused” to the laid back “why would I wanna be you” and the catchy and emotional “its all my fault”. With more to come, I spoke with Lyrah about his influences, creative process and what he has planned for the future. 

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Sheesh: Where are you from and how did you get started making music?

Lyrah Gray: I’m from Melbourne, Australia and to be honest nothing from here music-wise has really influenced me. There’s a huge band culture here which is cool but definitely not my specific vibe. Of course there are a few artists like me in Melbourne that pop up, but I feel like I am unique in my own way.

In terms of making music, I grew up in a super musically oriented family. My dad wanted me to play instruments all throughout school. My brother plays drums and guitar. I played piano and now sing!

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How did you first get started with making music and who are your biggest influences?

I was a massive fan of Lil Peep in around 2017 and he definitely had the biggest influence on me in terms of making music. I actually started creating music by finding his raw vocal stems in a Discord and trying to mix them myself. It’s such a weird way of starting out but it helped me learn how to use FL Studio which I still use today. Part of why I used FL is because hyperpop was a big deal at the time and a lot of artists under the genre used it. There’s no doubt hyperpop was a big influence in my earlier music, not so much now. But I learned a lot of vocal layering techniques from Ericdoa, his harmonies are so good. 

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How has your creative process changed from when you started and what does making music look like for you now?

It honestly hasn't changed all too much. I used to use a lot of YouTube beats when making music. Since like a year and a half ago I started producing all my own instrumentals. I've never really liked letting other people touch my music apart from me. I could say that’s kind of arrogant but I just can’t trust anyone with my music! I’ve always made music in my bedroom. Just me and myself. And every time I’ve been to a studio, I hate not having the ability to get the vocal take perfect or the freedom to change certain things whenever I want to.

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Your latest releases have been awesome, can you talk about the process behind making songs like “it’s all my fault” and “why would I wanna be you”?

I didn’t really think too much about making “why would i wanna be you”. I made it as a demo ages ago. It had no verses or anything, just started with a chorus. I’ve always loved seeing the progression of my demos turning into real songs. I have so many ideas on my voice notes, the notes app or lyrics I've just mumbled on to a guitar. Most of my songs consist of that. 

“It’s all my fault” is a tricky one. Recently I've struggled creating music the same way I used to. I changed my process a little bit for this particular song. I really wanted to make my songs more emotionally powerful, so I pushed myself out of my boundaries and thought about writing this song from another person's raw, genuine perspective. 

I have another song called “heaven” that also reflects my different creative processes. The song isn’t out yet, but being the first song of my EP, it feels original and unique. I’ve been working on this EP for ages, scrapping way too many songs I don't like and eventually revisiting them. But yeah, I’m really looking forward to people hearing the new stuff I have in store! 

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What do you have planned for the near future, what are your long-term goals in music and do you have any dream collaborators?

In terms of music, I think my EP is a true culmination of what I've made in the last year or so. It’s definitely my proudest work and I've been planning it for so long, I really look forward to people hearing it. 

I do wanna travel more, too. I feel like being in different musical environments can really inspire you. In terms of dream collaborators, someone who I’ve always looked up to and felt inspired by was Ericdoa. Like I said, I take a lot of influence from him and It’d be an honor to record with him one day.

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